FINDING SAM

Chapter Two

A lady in a candy-striped dress runs across the busy streets of New York. She is late as usual. Her hair is messy and flying around as the wind helps make it scatter around. Her bag is around her shoulder. She trips and falls to the ground and all her papers in her bag pour out and fly around ‘’s**t” she curses to herself.

She manages to pick them up and put them back but a couple of them are ruined. She gets up from the ground and runs down the stairs that lead to the subway.

As she gets into the train, relief washes through her. At least she’d get to her destination in a couple of minutes. She sits down and grabs her ringing phone from the pocket in front of her dress.

It is her roommate “Hey Belle’’ she sounds hungover.

‘’Are you okay Madison?’’ her mother bear instinct kicks in.

She hears laughter at the other end of the line ‘’I am great. Can I borrow your computer for a paper tonight?’’ Mad asks her desperately.

Bell frowns “What happened to yours’’

‘’I lost it at Café Neo”

“How?”

Madison sighs ‘’I don’t know how I just really need your help right now. Please stop with your questions and let me borrow it.’’

Bell sighs “Fine but please don’t lose mine, I can’t afford a new one right now’’ the train stops and she stands up knowing she has reached her stop ‘’I gotta go Mad, the password is still the same. I’ll see you later at home’’ she ends the call and runs out of the train and then out of the train station. She gets to the hospital faster than she thought she would. She is only thirty minutes late today. She runs into the building and is greeted by Richard. He has a frown on his face. Dressed in a suit that looks a little too big for him ‘’You are late again Anabel” his arms are folded across his chest.

‘’I am sorry’’ she apologizes immediately.

‘’What is your excuse this time?” he speaks up without even giving her a chance to reply “Let me take a guess, you had to drive your neighbor to her daughter's house, or wait, you picked an injured stray from the street?”

He is being sarcastic, mocking her for her kind nature.

“I am sorry sir’’

‘’ you need to do your job right, you can’t always have excuses’’ he walks away from her and she watches as he enters the door to his office. She is used to him and his rants, he is right. She needs to take this job seriously. Still, in nursing school, this is the only job helping her pay for surviving. She can’t mess it up as it was very hard to get in the first place.

She gets to her station and Rayna her co-worker greets her with a genuine smile “Rich the b***h complain again?” That is the name they got for their boss. Bell is an intern and she works in the ER department. She is basically just an intern until she gets her nursing degree and then she could become a full staff.

Rayna is an African American middle-aged woman, she is a lot older than Anabel. Her hair is in braids, she is on the plump side, with curvy hips and breasts.

“You know it’’ she signs in and Rayna laughs “You know, we all think he is secretly in love with you. That is the only explanation we could get for his obsession’’

I laugh “In love with me? Ha, not in a million years. He is right though, I need to pace myself. Stop coming late’’

She nods ‘’what actually happened today?’’

‘’My alarm clock stopped working” this gets a burst of intense laughter from her co-worker. They are suddenly interrupted by the EMT guys wheeling in a couple of emergency patients on gurneys. They run over to the scene of action and their days' work begins.

After work, bell drags herself back to the campus, she gets to the library and Madison waves at her. She walks over to her roommate and notices her computer. Thank goodness it’s still in good condition. She thinks to herself. She sits down on the chair opposite her friend “How’s the paper coming?” she asks curiously.

Madison groans loudly and a couple of people glare at them. They apologize quietly “I have a f*****g headache, I can’t get anything done’’ she turns the laptop around and Bell notices that she has only a couple of words typed down.

“That bad?”

Her friend bangs her head on the table frustrated ‘’I shouldn’t have gone partying last night. So much alcohol” she cries into the book in front of her. Anabel chuckles ‘’ I can help you. What’s the paper about?”

Madison squeals excitedly and for the next hour, they write the paper together and Bell studies for her tests. They walk back together to their apartment and Bell is greeted by Justin. He is standing in front of their apartment building. He smiles when he notices her presence but she doesn’t reciprocate.

“Baby” he touches her arm softly but she brushes his touch off.

“What are you doing here Justin?”

Madison shakes her head because she knows the back story that makes them hate his so much “You need to LEAVE” Madison warns the man. He is dressed in all black. Just a few inches taller than the both of them and with the darkest eyes.

“I am not talking to you. Can I have a second with you Bell? We need to talk?” he is desperate. She can tell from the tone of his voice. They never really broke up officially but he should have known from the radio silence she gave him.

“She doesn’t want to talk to you’’ Madison decides to be her spokesperson. She is almost ready to attack the jerk. It almost seems like it is personal when in fact it doesn’t have anything to do with her.

‘’Please, just a minute. Please’’

She sighs loudly already giving in to the man but Madison is not having it. She shakes her head and drags bell to a corner “You can’t be serious. He is an asshole’’ she reminds her friend. Bell nods “I just need to end things with him—officially. We never really had that talk’’

‘’Fine, but don’t let him suck you into his f*****g nonsense’’

Bell nods and Madison walks into the building. She walks back to Justin and he smiles again “How have you been? I have been calling you”

She laughs ‘’you should’ve taken the hint. I didn’t want to talk to you’’

‘’Why’’ he asks her confused.

She looks at him in disbelief. He cannot be serious right now. Not after what he did? She remembers it like it was just last night.

‘’Is Justin coming with?” Madison asks. They are in Bells rooming dressing up. Madison is rummaging through bell’s closet and obviously making a mess. Bell grabs her phone and it is a text from her boyfriend.

“He can’t make it. He’s working on a project for his astrophysics class’’

Madison nods and they continue getting ready. They get to the club and its dark and packed with people. Music is blaring from the speakers. This is not her kind of scene but she walks in enthusiastically. She is going to have fun with her girlfriends and nothing is going to ruin the night. They get to private booth Madison got for them, having the connections to stick that kind of entitlement and they sit down and order drinks.

‘’Isn't that Justin?” Madison speaks up out of the blue. She looks at the person and it is Justin. He is on the dancefloor, dancing with some girl. She watches and the sight is disgusting. He was supposed to be in the library but here he is grinding up against some girl.

‘’They are just dancing babe, don’t overreact’’ Madison tries to simplify the situation.

She nods her head “You’re right. I should go talk to him. Find out why he is here” she stands up about to walk up to the guy she loves but she is stopped by his lips smashing against the girls. She freezes up and her hands are shaking. She squeezes her palms to a fist and starts to boil up in anger.

He is still kissing the girl, even more passionately than he has ever kissed her. He is a liar and a f*****g cheat.

Madison touches her ‘’you okay honey?”

Bell shakes her head “We need to leave.”

Her friend agrees and they leave the club. She doesn’t say anything to him until this moment.

‘’I saw you that night”

‘W..W..What?” he stutters terrified.

She rolls her eyes “That night. In club danger” she reminds him. He looks at her unknowingly and she waits for it to ring a bell. The expression on his face changes, she can read it. He knows what she is talking about. He remembers that night. He knows what he did.

“I can explain”

This is a typical line. When guys realize they messed up, they end up trying to explain the situation but nothing could make the fact that he is a cheat better. She shakes her head “It’s been a month, I am over it now. I don’t need an explanation. It’s been over between us’’ she tries to walk away from him but he grabs her arm roughly ‘’Wait” she tries to nudge her arm away but his grip is tight.

‘’Let go of me, Justin.”

‘’He shakes his head “Not until you listen to what I have to say. I made a mistake that night and I regret it ever since. I can't let you go because of something so stupid. It was just a kiss, and It will never happen again.

“Wow, just a kiss?”

‘Yes”

‘’Bullshit Justin. Just let me go and get the hell out of my life’’ I force my arm out of his grip and he runs his hands through his hair frustrated. Bell walks away from him and he runs after her “Please baby, let me just explain. I am so sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen, I was drunk, I didn’t know her; she didn’t mean anything to me’’

I laugh “You don’t mean anything to me anymore Justin. Just leave me the f**k alone” she walks away from him and this time he doesn’t follow her. Glad, she walks into her apartment building and Madison is in their small living room, waiting. The room is dark except for one lamp on the table next to the couch.

“You set him straight right?”

She nods.

“Good, he is such a jackass’’

Bell can’t help but agree with her friend. A part of her wanted to forgive him; get back together with him but he hurt her and she really loved him. She couldn’t go back to someone that lied to her and didn’t value their relationship.

She deserved more than that.

The Past.

‘’You will do great things. You will take California by the storm. Everyone will know you were there. You will make me and your mother proud’’ he touches her shoulder warmly.

She is shaking, scared of the adventure she is about to take. Evelyn watches her mother and dad. They have a certain smile on their faces. They are excited for her, ready to say goodbye to her, even though it is for a couple of months.

‘’ don’t be scared. Don’t run, you will be fine”

They are in the airport, people pass by, the world is going on with their life, everyone is in their moment but all Evelyn can focus on is her parents. The people that have been there for her all her life. her father has always told her that she could achieve anything she desired. He never discouraged her creativeness.

He always believed in her.

‘’I love you daddy’’ she runs into his arms and he welcomes her. Barely just 18 years old, she is still his little girl. The only child he ever had, the reason why he existed.

‘’ I love you too my child. Now run along and do great things.’’ They pull apart and her mother has tears in her eyes ‘’I am going to miss you, honey, the house will not be the same without you’’

‘’I will be back for Thanksgiving, and Christmas and your birthdays. I will always come back home. I promise’’

Her mother smiles satisfied and they both watch as she leaves them with her small carry on. Evie is nervous but she gets into the plane and all the nerves dissipate for that moment. She is ready to do this; hell she is even excited.

=================

The flight is long and the drive to the campus is even longer, it is dark when she gets to the dorm. She is tired and all she wants to do is jump into her new bed and sleep till the next day. She walks into the room and her roommate is already asleep. She quietly drops her things next to her bed and looks around. The room is small, there is no space for anything but the bed.

She smiles because this is the experience of college. Dorm rooms, classrooms, libraries, everything seems like a treat to her. She sits on the bed even though there are no covers. She hears a snore from her roommates bed and it suddenly becomes louder. She frowns because this is going to be a problem with sleeping. She has always been a light sleeper and now this was going to be a problem.

She walks out of the room and out of the dorms, the air is cool outside and she takes a deep breath as she sucks it all in. closing her eyes, she imagines a life here, this is the beginning of a new life. college, the freedom she never had, she could have a taste of it. She didn’t have to answer to anyone. She is on her own. She goes back to her room with a satisfied feeling. She knows she is going to be okay.

She will be fine; just like her father said.

He was always right.

Her own superhero.

================

The next morning, she wakes up and her roommate is already out of the room. Walking around the room, there is a reading table in the middle of the room, in between both beds. The table has a bunch of books on it, she regrets not coming before her roommate. She could have gotten the bed by the window and she would have settled in before her. Now she was stuck with the bed next to the bathroom. The door to the room opens abruptly and a girl walks in. She is dressed in a black and white pleated skirt and a plain white tee shirt. It almost looks like a school uniform. Evelyn smiles at the girl “Hi” she moves closer to her but the expression on her face is not friendly.

“Hi” the girl manages but it isn’t forthcoming. Evelyn watches as she runs to the other side of the other bed and grabs a very big textbook from her bedside table. She leaves the room as fast as she came in. With a loud sigh, Evelyn ignores her and continues organizing her stuff. It takes her a couple of hours to get her clothes in the cupboard assigned to her. After she is done, she decides to have a shower and explore the campus. She finishes her shower and dresses in a purple knee-length dress. It is simple and she assembles it with black shoes. Her red hair falls over her shoulders. She walks out of the room and at the same time someone else.

It is a girl, she looks up when she notices Evelyn and her smile is as bright as the sun. She waves immediately; it looks so comical considering how tiny the girl is. She looks to be about 5 ft. and her eyes are big doe eyes. This gets a chuckle out of Evelyn. The girl walks up to Evelyn “Are you new?” she asks immediately.

Evelyn nods “Just got in yesterday”

The smile on her face widens “Me too, I have been so scared to leave my room. I don’t know a single soul. What’s your major?”

“Chemical Engineering” Evelyn answers immediately. She is just glad to have someone to talk to right now. Doing this whole thing alone is scarier than being here in the first place “What about you?” she adds.

“Art history. Shoot, I don’t even know your name. I’m Lena Kang” she says and Evelyn realizes that she is Asian.

“I am Evelyn Partisan” they shake hands and walk out of the dorm together. The weather is cool, the sun is shining, students are walking around, and everyone seems to know where they are going. Unlike the two of them, they look like two lost puppies on the streets. They walk around the campus all day, they explore all the buildings, classrooms, laboratories and libraries and when the day ends, they say goodbye and exchange numbers.

The next day they walk together to their first classes even though they don’t have the same classes for that day. Parting ways Evelyn walks into her CHEMENG20 class. The seats at the front are all filled up, she looks around until she finds one at the back. Rushing to it, she drops her book bag on the table and sits down. The lecturer walks in and the students remain quiet as he takes them on the introduction of chemical engineering.

Evelyn notices a stare from someone besides her. She is not sure but she can feel it. Do you know that moment where you feel someone eyes on you? That was happening to her. She sneaks a glance at the people to her left but they are all focused on the professor. Looking away and trying to ignore it, she faces the front. The professor is talking about material and energy balances; she takes notes on his discussion but something bothers her about the stare.

She looks to the other side and she sees him, his eyes are the first thing she notices. They are grey, almost white. His eyes have an energy that pulls you in. she gasps, shocked that she didn’t notice him when she walked in. he is watching her, with those grey eyes that look like the sky on a very rainy day. His hair is jet black and gelled back, that it looks like it took a lot to get it to stay that way. He is perfectly chiseled, his jaw looks like it could cut glass. The man looks like the perfect specimen and he is staring at her.

He has been staring at her since she walked into the classroom. Evelyn gets herself together and hides the smitten expression out of her face. She replaces it with a “Can I help you” expression. Her brow is raised and her eyes open wide. This gets a laugh out of him and it is not a quiet one. He burst out and people around them turn and are now looking at him. He doesn’t apologize, he doesn’t hide his face or realise that he has made a mistake. The man just keeps staring at her and to her, it feels like he has fire in his eyes. The pupil of his eyes looks cool, calm but she feels like she is on fire. Like he is burning her in all the right places.

She has never felt this way before.

She tries to ignore the feeling, she tries to focus on what is important. The man in front of everyone—the reason why she is here in the first place. She tries to be a good student but she can’t. Her eyes can’t stop looking at him. The stranger that she just met.

The man with the stormy eyes.